TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK — Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Decibel Therapeutics, Inc., marking a significant step forward in strengthening the company’s gene therapy and auditory programs.
“After several years of successful collaboration, the integration of Decibel’s programs, capabilities and accomplished team will further bolster Regeneron’s genetic medicines portfolio and advance our mission of helping patients around the globe. We will continue to strategically deploy capital by selectively pursuing deals that secure access to novel technologies and approaches that are complementary to our technologies, portfolio and strengths in research.”
–Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., Board Co-Chair, President and CEO of Regeneron
- Expanded Collaboration: This acquisition builds upon prior successful collaborations between the two companies, reinforcing their commitment to advancing genetic medicine.
- Targeting Hearing Loss: Regeneron and Decibel are working on three gene therapy programs focused on different forms of congenital, monogenic hearing loss. The most advanced candidate, DB-OTO, is currently undergoing global Phase 1/2 CHORDTM clinical trials, offering hope for individuals with profound, congenital hearing loss caused by mutations of the otoferlin gene.
- Scientific Advancements: George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Board Co-Chair, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, highlighted their collaborative effort in building a robust pipeline of programs aimed at addressing congenital hearing loss caused by single-gene mutations.
- Shareholder Impact: The tender offer for Decibel shares expired on September 22, 2023, resulting in approximately 86.1% of outstanding shares being acquired by Regeneron. Shareholders will receive $4.00 per share, along with a non-tradeable contractual contingent value right (CVR) of up to $3.50 per share, linked to specific clinical development and regulatory milestones.
- Financial Guidance: Any changes to Regeneron’s 2023 GAAP and non-GAAP financial guidance due to this transaction will be reflected in the upcoming guidance update alongside the third quarter 2023 earnings announcement.
“As we advance Regeneron’s commitment to genetic medicine, we welcome our new colleagues and their important expertise in the biology of auditory disorders,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Board Co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. “In addition to DB-OTO, we have worked with Decibel to build a rich pipeline of programs targeting congenital hearing loss caused by single-gene mutations, including the more common GJB2 and STRC mutations. We are actively expanding our expertise in cutting-edge genetic medicine approaches, which currently includes gene silencing, gene editing and gene therapy technologies with the potential to address many serious and hard-to-treat diseases.”
Regeneron’s legal advisor for the transaction is Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Centerview Partners LLC and Leerink Partners LLC served as Decibel’s financial advisors and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP served as Decibel’s legal advisor.
About Regeneron
Regeneron is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops, and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led for 35 years by physician-scientists, Regeneron’s unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous FDA-approved treatments and product candidates in development, almost all of which were homegrown in Regeneron’s laboratories. Regeneron’s medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases, and rare diseases.
Regeneron is accelerating and improving the traditional drug development process through our proprietary VelociSuite® technologies, such as VelocImmune®, which uses unique genetically humanized mice to produce optimized fully human antibodies and bispecific antibodies, and through ambitious research initiatives such as the Regeneron Genetics Center, which is conducting one of the largest genetics sequencing efforts in the world.
Source: Regeneron
